Impact BBDO & Etihad Boost Personalized Creative 4.2x, Cut Production Time 70% with Smartly
Objective
As Etihad’s year-over-year marketing activity accelerated, BBDO (Etihad’s global creative agency) needed a scalable way to produce personalized, high-quality digital assets across regions and formats. They aimed to speed up production, reduce workload and cost, and maintain Etihad’s premium brand identity across all touchpoints.
Solution
BBDO partnered with Smartly to integrate Smartly Creative Templates into Etihad’s global digital production engine, fundamentally transforming how the team created, adapted, and scaled assets across markets. By replacing manual versioning with intelligent, automation-driven creative workflows, the teams unlocked rapid production at a quality level aligned with Etihad’s premium brand standards.
1. Dynamic Templates designed for global adaptability
Smartly developed modular, brand-safe templates anchored in Etihad’s visual identity system. These templates allowed BBDO to:
- Instantly localize creatives across languages, regions, currencies, and audience segments
- Update destinations, fares, and offers in minutes, not days
- Maintain perfect design consistency, no matter the market or format
Production timelines dropped by 70%, allowing teams to respond to market demand without sacrificing quality or control.
2. Automated production pipelines that scale creative, not workload
Smartly turned repetitive design tasks into automated workflows. Instead of manually resizing and adapting assets, BBDO could generate:
- Hundreds of variations within minutes
- Always-on campaign refreshes driven by new offers and seasonal storytelling
- Platform-ready creatives for every placement and aspect ratio
Within just three months, BBDO increased ad output by 4.2x, generating more than 19,000 assets, all without adding headcount.
3. A deeply collaborative creative-to-tech workflow
Smartly’s creative specialists worked hand-in-hand with BBDO’s designers to ensure:
- Templates matched Etihad’s visual precision down to typography, spacing, and grid systems
- Brand storytelling remained intact, even within automated formats
- Approvals and mockups aligned seamlessly with Etihad’s governance requirements
- Designers maintained complete artistic control, while automation handled the execution at scale
The result was a system that supported 80% more campaign volume while preserving Etihad’s premium look and feel.
4. Data-driven creative scaling that fuels performance
Smartly’s setup allowed BBDO to create more creative variations and more data signals than ever before. With a larger pool of assets to learn from, algorithms improved delivery:
- Optimizing the best-performing layout, message, or fare
- Matching creative variations to the right audiences
- Refreshing ads automatically to avoid fatigue
This scalability gave Etihad a competitive edge in both speed and relevance.
Why It Worked
Most automation platforms optimize solely for volume. Smartly optimizes for volume, brand integrity, and adaptability.
Etihad and BBDO gained a system where:
- Creative quality remained premium
- Brand governance remained intact
- Production friction disappeared
- Adaptability became instant
- Global campaigns could scale endlessly without adding designers
Smartly unlocked a new model where strategy and storytelling lead, and automation accelerates everything around it.
“This approach modernised Etihad’s entire creative operating model, turning what was once a manual process into a dynamic, intelligence-driven engine. It equipped Etihad with the agility to launch campaigns faster, adapt to changing business needs, and maximize the performance impact of every creative iteration. The result was a system designed for long-term growth, adaptability, and brand excellence. ”
Impact BBDO & Etihad Boost Personalized Creative 4.2x, Cut Production Time 70% with Smartly
BBDO is one of the world’s leading creative agencies, renowned for its award-winning work, strong strategic thinking, and iconic brand-building capabilities. With a global footprint spanning North America, Europe, Asia, and beyond, BBDO partners with some of the world’s most influential brands, such as Etihad Airways (leading airlines, known for premium service, strong brand identity, and global footprint across the Middle East, Europe, Asia, and the US) to deliver impactful, culturally relevant creative at scale. Committed to innovation and effectiveness, BBDO continues to invest in modern creative technologies and data-driven approaches to help brands connect with audiences across markets and channels.
Objective
As Etihad’s year-over-year marketing activity accelerated, BBDO (Etihad’s global creative agency) needed a scalable way to produce personalized, high-quality digital assets across regions and formats. They aimed to speed up production, reduce workload and cost, and maintain Etihad’s premium brand identity across all touchpoints.
Solution
BBDO partnered with Smartly to integrate Smartly Creative Templates into Etihad’s global digital production engine, fundamentally transforming how the team created, adapted, and scaled assets across markets. By replacing manual versioning with intelligent, automation-driven creative workflows, the teams unlocked rapid production at a quality level aligned with Etihad’s premium brand standards.
1. Dynamic Templates designed for global adaptability
Smartly developed modular, brand-safe templates anchored in Etihad’s visual identity system. These templates allowed BBDO to:
- Instantly localize creatives across languages, regions, currencies, and audience segments
- Update destinations, fares, and offers in minutes, not days
- Maintain perfect design consistency, no matter the market or format
Production timelines dropped by 70%, allowing teams to respond to market demand without sacrificing quality or control.
2. Automated production pipelines that scale creative, not workload
Smartly turned repetitive design tasks into automated workflows. Instead of manually resizing and adapting assets, BBDO could generate:
- Hundreds of variations within minutes
- Always-on campaign refreshes driven by new offers and seasonal storytelling
- Platform-ready creatives for every placement and aspect ratio
Within just three months, BBDO increased ad output by 4.2x, generating more than 19,000 assets, all without adding headcount.
3. A deeply collaborative creative-to-tech workflow
Smartly’s creative specialists worked hand-in-hand with BBDO’s designers to ensure:
- Templates matched Etihad’s visual precision down to typography, spacing, and grid systems
- Brand storytelling remained intact, even within automated formats
- Approvals and mockups aligned seamlessly with Etihad’s governance requirements
- Designers maintained complete artistic control, while automation handled the execution at scale
The result was a system that supported 80% more campaign volume while preserving Etihad’s premium look and feel.
4. Data-driven creative scaling that fuels performance
Smartly’s setup allowed BBDO to create more creative variations and more data signals than ever before. With a larger pool of assets to learn from, algorithms improved delivery:
- Optimizing the best-performing layout, message, or fare
- Matching creative variations to the right audiences
- Refreshing ads automatically to avoid fatigue
This scalability gave Etihad a competitive edge in both speed and relevance.
Why It Worked
Most automation platforms optimize solely for volume. Smartly optimizes for volume, brand integrity, and adaptability.
Etihad and BBDO gained a system where:
- Creative quality remained premium
- Brand governance remained intact
- Production friction disappeared
- Adaptability became instant
- Global campaigns could scale endlessly without adding designers
Smartly unlocked a new model where strategy and storytelling lead, and automation accelerates everything around it.
“This approach modernised Etihad’s entire creative operating model, turning what was once a manual process into a dynamic, intelligence-driven engine. It equipped Etihad with the agility to launch campaigns faster, adapt to changing business needs, and maximize the performance impact of every creative iteration. The result was a system designed for long-term growth, adaptability, and brand excellence. ”
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